History of E-newspaperarchives.ch in Timeline

By Popular Timelines Editorial Team · Updated: July 25, 2025

E-newspaperarchives.ch, operated by the Swiss National Library, is a website offering free access to digitized archives of numerous Swiss newspapers. It evolved from the Swiss Press Online site in 2018, becoming its successor. Currently, it grants access to approximately 200 Swiss newspapers in various languages, serving as a valuable historical resource.

2009: Swiss National Library created digitization strategy

In 2009, the Swiss National Library created its initial digitization strategy, prioritizing newspapers and the press, with recommendations including copyright respect and partnering with related institutions.

September 2011: Swiss Press Online Launched

On September 28, 2011, the Swiss National Library and Valais Médiathèque launched Swiss Press Online, driven by cantonal institutions aiming to digitize and pool newspaper resources. The launch coincided with the release of the digitized Confédéré publication as the service's pilot project.

2011: Swiss Press Online site started

In 2011, the Swiss Press Online site was started by the Swiss National Library. It provided digitized archives of many Swiss newspapers.

2017: Service improvements and name change to e-newspaperarchives.ch

In 2017, collaborators made changes to improve the quality of the service, changing the site's name to e-newspaperarchives.ch and moving it to newer Viridian technology.

2018: e-newspaperarchives.ch succeeds Swiss Press Online

In 2018, e-newspaperarchives.ch succeeded the Swiss Press Online site. The new site continued providing free digitized archives of many Swiss newspapers.

November 2019: Cooperation to fix text scanning errors

In November 2019, the library organized a cooperation with the public to fix text scanning errors in the archive introduced by the automated character recognition software, themed around women's suffrage near the 60th anniversary of the referendum.

2025: 200 Swiss newspapers available

As of 2025, e-newspaperarchives.ch provides access to 200 Swiss newspapers in several languages, including archives of 'Der Bund', 'Neue Zürcher Zeitung', 'L'Express/L'Impartial', and 'Le Nouvelliste'.